Picking Wildflowers

I am so thankful that I work part time which allows me to spend a lot of time with Claire!  I do find myself completely exhausted after a day with her, but I wouldn’t trade my time with her for anything!  I love that during our days together she is constantly reminding me that the little things in life are really what are important.

Since day 1 Claire has preferred to spend all of her time outdoors.  One thing we really enjoy together is going for ATV rides around fields or through the woods.  We love to look for geese or ducks on the pond or pick wildflowers.  There are so many wildflowers blooming this summer and we find them everywhere in the woods.  During our ATV rides Claire yells at me when she wants me to stop to pick her wildflowers. 

By the time we get back to the house she always has a beautiful colorful wildflower bouquet and she is completely tickled to have it!  She beams with delight as she shows off her bouquet to the dogs, or Daddy, or whoever happens to be at the house.  Claire’s appreciation of the simple things in life keeps me grounded and keeps me smiling J  What an amazing blessing she continues to be!

 

Grain Bin Extravaganza!

This summer is flying by!  We have been so busy working on projects at the farm that we haven’t had much time for play.  But, even though this project has been labor intensive (not for me but the guys have been working hard) it has been great entertainment watching the progress!

Grain storage before all the construction.


The decision was made quite some time ago that we needed more storage for grain at the farm.  Why have grain bins?  These huge grain bins allow you to store grain rather than having to haul it straight from the field during harvest to an elevator.  Grain bins at the farm are advantageous to utilize.  More times than not, grain prices are lowest during harvest.  So it’s really great to be able to store grain at the farm to sell at a later time for a higher price….hopefully.  I say hopefully because trying to figure out patterns of the grain market prices is quite a risk :) 

 

So in order to add to the grain storage at the farm some rearranging was in order.  Due to the layout of the original grain bins one had to be moved for the new grain bin. 

That should be an easy task, right?  Well, not exactly.  The grain bins at the farm range in size from 55 to 80 feet tall.  And they are made of corrugated steel, so you can imagine that they aren’t feather light to move around.  A new cement slab was poured for the “old” grain bin’s new home.  The cement slab had to be heavy duty to hold up the many pounds of grain stored, so several feet of cement was poured with lots of steel rod to reinforce it. 





Once the cement slab was set Claire had to check it out…she is quality control around the farm, ha-ha!  Then a crane had to be hired to come to the farm to move the “old” grain bin to its new location.  Up and over the power lines the grain bin gracefully flew to its new home.  I thought it was pretty neat to see!



Almost over the power lines....

Starting the flight....





 

Gracefully landing on the new slab!

Now the task of preparing the site for the new grain bin is being tackled.  I will be sure to post a picture of the finished product, but it may be another several weeks before that happens so I wanted to at least get this exciting stuff posted.

If everything progresses as it should we will have everything done before harvest.  You know what that means?  We will be able to store all our grain waiting and wondering if the markets will turn around so we can hopefully get better prices.  Ha-ha, everything in agriculture is such a gamble, but I love it :)

 



What's Going On In Our Fields Right Now?

Claire helping get the combine ready to go to the field.

A little over a week ago we finished up wheat harvest.  Usually our wheat is ready to harvest around the beginning of July, but this year it took a little longer to mature, so we weren’t able to start harvesting until mid-July. 

The wheat that was just harvested was planted last fall, was dormant during the winter months, and then grew and matured during this spring and summer.  In my opinion wheat is the prettiest crop!  I love the golden color it takes on right before harvest, and this year I was lucky enough to have the field directly behind me planted to wheat so I got to see it all the time J 



Combining wheat on a pretty summer day.

As the combine harvests the wheat the grain is separated from the stalk.  The stalk can be chopped up by the combine and spread on the field, or can be put into windrows to be baled as straw.  Usually we don’t bale any straw, but this year we baled the field right behind our house.  Claire was very concerned noting that the large bales in the field didn’t belong there, ha-ha.  Straw can be used for a variety of things including animal bedding, or to increase fiber in cattle feed.

 

The wheat grain that the combine collects is hauled to grain elevators by semis and trailers.  The grain elevators then sell the grain to be used for a wide array of products found in our grocery stores such as bread, cereal, and beer, just to name a few.

It’s a great feeling getting the wheat finished!  The weather made wheat harvest go as smooth as possible.  In order to have a productive harvest the weather has to be dry and warm, and that’s just what we got…thanks mother nature! J

Thanks to the great weather we were even able to combine into
the early night.  Something typically abnormal due to the
humidity during summer nights.

Now that wheat harvest is done it’s a nice idea to think we have some down time or free time until soybean and corn harvest starts in the fall.  But, we have lots of “non- field work” to get done before that time….stay tuned J

I "Loved" Panera Bread.....

I love the Panera Bread Company restaurants!  Or, should I say “loved them” until just recently.  My mom, my sister, and I enjoy them almost every time we go out shopping and the food is always so delicious.  But, I came across this blog post and it left me with a horrible taste in my mouth and I guarantee if this marketing continues you won’t find me in a Panera restaurant!

No- my family doesn’t raise chickens, but as an advocate for agriculture we all stick together and what Panera is trying to do with this marketing is truly upsetting!

Please take some time to read this blog post:

http://dairycarrie.com/2013/07/23/dear-panera-bread-company/

Field Snapshot: Corn

Take a look at this picture of corn I took yesterday.  This corn was planted in May and is growing along nicely. 

But, can you tell what the corn is trying to tell us?  

 

This corn is in need of some rain! 

Take a closer look at the tips of the leaves….see how the leaves are starting to get twisted up?  That means that the corn is thirsty and in need of some moisture. 

Typically corn does not have the “twisted” look; the leaves are relaxed with tips pointing to the ground.  Next time you are out for a drive take a look at the corn and you will notice the difference.

Even though we could use the moisture we still have some wheat harvesting to finish up so you won’t find me out doing a rain dance just yet J

Good Times, Great Friends!

Usually we don’t do anything special for the 4^th of July because we are harvesting wheat.  But, this year the wheat matured a little later than most years so we decided to get out of town!  We headed to the Upper Peninsula to spend some quality time with a great group of friends. 

Brad has had the same group of friends since elementary school.  I think it is remarkable that they have remained so close after all these years.  There are even a few of the guys who live out of state now and they still make an effort to get together whenever possible.  As we get older and have more responsibilities and families it gets harder and harder to make time, but somehow they manage.  And when the guys all get together it’s like no time has passed at all.  They are really great to be around!

While we were up north we saw some amazing scenery and got to enjoy some true peace and quiet.  No running water, no electricity, no cell phone service, and no other people for at least a 15 minute truck ride.  But, it’s just what we needed!  Time to really see the stars again rather than the glow of city lights.   Time to enjoy company of great people without the distraction of the TV, internet or cell phones.  And, time to just catch up laughing about the small stuff.

I find myself constantly being reminded that the small things in life are some of the most important.  And spending quiet time with this great group of people is just another example of that.  Brad and I returned home refreshed, missing Claire, and thankful for great people in our lives.

For The Love Of The Sandbox

I’ve heard stories that as a youngster Brad preferred to either spend his time helping on the farm, or pretending to farm in his sandbox.  His best friend told me that as they played together as kids Brad would section off the sandbox claiming “ground” to farm.  Brad’s farm was always the majority of the sandbox, leaving his friend only a small parcel to farm.  Then Brad would supervise his friend making sure he was properly farming the small section of the sandbox J

Ever since Claire has been mobile, Brad has talked about how excited he was to build her a sandbox to play in.  Last summer she was still too young, but this year we knew she was ready!



Handing nails to Daddy

So last week he picked up supplies and got the sandbox project complete.  Claire helped every step of the way; always anxious to be a big helper!  She supervised; making sure Brad was laying out the sandbox the way she wanted it.  Then helped by handing him nails when necessary.  I could see that she was proud of herself as she assisted J

Since the sandbox has been done we haven’t spent much time indoors.  At 8am immediately after she finishes breakfast she is banging on the back door ready to go out and play.  And she does just that; she keeps herself content in the sandbox for a really long time, which is something extraordinary since she typically is moving all the time!

It is so cute to watch them play together in the sandbox!  Claire doesn’t have any farm equipment to play in the sand with yet, but I know when she does her daddy will be teaching her how to be a little farmer…and I cannot wait to watch them! J